How I Create Content That Ranks on Google and YouTube (Without a Big Team)
In this post, I’m going to teach you how I create content that ranks on Google and Youtube as a one-man army.
I’ve created guides that rank #1 for multiple keywords with thousands of searches per month:
I’ve created videos that ranked #1 on Youtube for my keywords and get promoted through its suggestions algorithm:
These results have been achieved with a simple 4-step process I use to consistently and systematically rank #1 for my targeted keywords on Google and Youtube.
Let’s begin.
Step 1: Choose A Popular Content Topic
The first thing you want to do before you begin writing any content is to choose a topic that gets attention consistently, month in and month out.
Back in the days, I used to create Youtube videos and blog posts about whatever I felt inspired about in that moment.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing, and it’s super enjoyable.
Unfortunately, just because something’s enjoyable to you doesn’t mean it’s market-validated.
If you want real business results, you need to choose a topic that’s tried and true.
You want to pick a topic your market is drooling over – like Lakers fans swarming a hot dog stand after an overtime game.
To do this, I use Google Keyword Planner
I start with brainstorming some topics related to my business and throwing them into the keyword planner:
Here’s what I’m looking for when I’m analysing the topics:
- A decent amount of monthly search volume.
- Directly related to your business.
- An area of expertise that you’re confident enough to write on.
- Ideally, if you can find keywords with CPC attached, that’s great too because it shows commercial intent..
Here’s how I applied the above process to my own business for the topic “SEO Help for Small Business.”
First, I chucked my main keyword into Google Keyword Planner:
Here’s why “Small Business SEO” is a great keyword (and topic) to go after:
- It’s directly related to my business.
The topic is literally search engine optimization for small businesses; exactly what I offer. It’s not just relevant, it’s dead on target.
- It carries commercial intent.
People searching this aren’t just casually browsing. They’re small business owners trying to solve a real problem: how to rank higher and get more customers. That means some of those searchers are ready to pay for help.
- The competition is a good sign.
Yes, there are other people targeting this keyword, but that’s not a bad thing. In fact, it means the market is already validated. If other businesses are investing to rank here, it’s because they know there’s money in it.
- The search volume fits the market.
Google Keyword Planner shows a range of 10–100 searches a month, but that’s just one variation. When you group all the related keywords together, you’re looking at a few hundred searches a month. For a New Zealand market, that’s actually a healthy, realistic audience: not too small, not too big, just right for a niche like SEO marketing.
If you do this for your own business and find similar patterns, then tada – you’ve found a topic worth creating content around!
This sets the tone for your content writing because you’re not left guessing what the market wants.
On the contrary, you’re doing the complete opposite! You’ve found a topic that has the potential to bring you business for years to come.
(Keyword being “potential” – we’ll cover how to turn that potential into reality in the next steps)
Once you’ve validated your topic idea, it’s time to move on to analyzing your competition’s content.
Step 2: Content Competitor Analysis
Now it’s time to chuck the topic into Google and take a look at the content you’ll be competing against.
Ideally, you want to look at the first three pieces of content that rank for your keyword and run a content audit on them.
(You’ll be using this information for your own content once you begin creating it)
Running a content audit on your competitor’s content will give you the “inside scoop” on where their content is lacking and how you can capitalise on it.
Here’s the mental process I use when I run a content audit:
- What’s working well with their content, and how can I make it better?
- What are they missing that I can add to my own content?
- What other ways can I add value to my own piece of content?
Essentially, this process is about creating your “battle plan” against your competitor’s content.
At the end of the day, if you want to rank on Google or Youtube, your content needs to be the best content available on that topic.
Once you identify every edge possible, you’re coming readily prepared once you begin creating.
If you want to outrank your competitors, here are a few ways to actually create content that puts you in a league of your own:
- Go deeper with your content. If their content only gives a taste tester, make sure your content gives the whole-damn meal. Keep it as simple as possible. Don’t overcomplicate it just to sound smart – do the opposite. Be clear, direct, and helpful.
- Cover closely related topics. If the main topic is solid, go a bit wider. Add relevant subtopics that people also want to know about. This keeps readers on your page longer, shows Google you’re the authority, and gives you more chances to hit extra keywords without stuffing.
- Use images and video. People don’t want a wall of text. It’s too difficult to read and grasp, and it’s boring. Break it up with visuals. Screenshots, diagrams, and even a simple photo can make things way easier to follow. Suppose you’re good with a video camera – even better. Video adds trust and keeps people around longer.
- Make your content more emotionally compelling. Most content is dry. Make yours memorable. Use stories, analogies, metaphors. Whatever helps people see the point without working too hard to understand it. Our brains like pictures and visual examples to grasp onto.
- Showcase your personality. Don’t sound like R2D2’s goofy-cousin. Readers can tell when you’ve used AI these days. People want people, not robots. Write like you talk. Be a real human. Add a bit of edge or humour if that’s your style. That “zazz” is what makes people actually enjoy reading your stuff and trust you.
Here’s how I applied it to my own business:
Here’s an example of one of the first ranking pieces of content on Google for this keyword:
When I see a piece of content like this, to me, it’s a goldmine.
Why? Because my job isn’t just to write something on the same topic. It’s to create competitive advantages to make something so much better that Google (and real people) can’t ignore it.
Here’s what I spotted and how I can beat it:
- No images.
Their’s is just a wall of text. That’s an easy win. Good visuals (clean diagrams, examples, even screenshots) instantly make content feel more helpful and more readable. Aesthetics matter.
- No video.
Video is a huge differentiator right now. Everyone’s churning out AI-written articles, but hardly anyone’s pairing them with a quick, human video walkthrough. Add video, and suddenly you stand out.
- Boring word count.
Yes, it’s 3,000 words. But those 3,000 words have no soul. It’s dry, robotic, and formatted like it was written for a search engine, not a human. Inject personality, use smart formatting, make it fun to read, and now you’re miles ahead.
- No personal brand.
Most SEO agencies hide behind a logo. No face, no voice, no trust. When you show up as a real person with a name, a face, and some actual experience, you instantly build credibility that others don’t.
- No stories or analogies.
People don’t just remember facts. They remember stories. Analogies turn complex ideas into “aha” moments. Sprinkle those throughout, and you’ve now made technical content emotionally sticky.
Put all of that together, and you’ve got serious firepower. When it’s time to create, you’re not just making another article.
You’re building a better, sharper, more human piece of content that has everything the current top-ranking piece doesn’t. That’s how you win.
With these notes in mind, when I go to create my guide, I want to make sure to fill in the gaps where they’ve dropped the ball so I can capitalise on it.
Step 3: Create The Content
If you’ve done the previous steps, now it’s time to put pen to paper and get to creating.
The reason why your previous steps are so important now is coz you know exactly what to create.
You don’t have to walk through the writer’s mud of stressing about what to create, the flow of your content, and everything else under the sun.
Now you’ve got a strategic, smooth-flowing content outline you can follow.
Before you dive into writing, make sure you’ve covered the essentials. Every solid piece of content should answer these four things:
- What’s this actually about? Give people a clear idea of the topic up front. No fluff, no clickbait.
- Why should they care? Spell out the benefit of reading it. What are they going to get out of it if they stick around?
- Why should they trust you? Don’t be a ghost behind the screen. Show them why you’re worth listening to – real proof, not hype.
- How do they actually do it? This is the meat. Walk them through the steps in a way that’s simple, practical, and easy to follow.
This is the same format I use for every piece of content I use.
It’s hit home-runs every time for one reason:
It’s simple while covering all the need-to-know elements that a piece of content needs.
You want to give the consumer every piece of information they need to know about that particular topic.
This method takes more time and energy than just whipping up an AI-generated blog post with fancy headers, emojis, and bold + italics every so often.
But Google prefers it, and your efforts will pay off.
Once you’ve created your content covering this format, it’s time to add in the edges you discovered in the previous step.
By the end of this process, you should have an absolute mammoth of a piece of content.
An asset that, when coupled with SEO, will serve your business for years to come.
All that’s left now is to promote your content.
Quick note about AI-generated content:
Even though it might seem handy that it can spit out a 1,000-word article in less time than it takes me to chug a glass of water…
You still need to be confident in the topic because AI can make a ton of mistakes with the creation process and spit out figures and facts that aren’t even true.
Also, because AI can create content at the drop of a hat – all of a sudden, one way you can differentiate yourself is by actually writing it.
As Syndrome from The Incredibles says:
“When everyone’s super, nobody is.”
As it relates to AI-generated content:
In a sea filled with AI-generated content, the one who stands out is the one who actually writes with their true voice.
(Just something to keep in mind)
Step 4: Promote Your Content
“If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?”
If we relate that to your beautiful, new piece of content:
“Does your content even exist if people don’t know about it?”
The answer is a resounding “heck naw.”
This is where a huge portion of people fall off.
They think it’s enough to just create SEO-optimised content and it’ll rank.
That works if the competition is you, yourself and Irene.
But wouldn’t it make more sense to build some defence walls around your content through promotion?
This way, not only will you put your content in front of the right people, but it will also help build links.
These links will:
- Help your content rank higher coz it’s one of Google’s main ranking factors, but also
- Protect your content from other competitors who try to outrank you.
Here are a few simple ways I like to promote my content:
- Email it to your target market. For example, when I finished my SEO guide for small businesses, I promoted it to small businesses in NZ that I wanted to help and just reached out. Nothing salesy or spammy. Just a short, friendly message sharing my resource with them.
- Promote it on your socials. Drop it on your personal accounts and if you’ve got business pages (Facebook, Insta, LinkedIn, whatever), share it there too. Most people forget how much reach they’ve already got in their own circles.
- Answer questions online. Look for places where your audience is already asking questions. Forums, Reddit, Facebook groups, etc., and give helpful answers. If your content genuinely solves the problem, link it. But keep it real. No link dumping.
- Guest post or do a podcast swap. This takes a bit more effort, but if you’ve got something valuable to say and someone else has an audience you’d like to get in front of. It’s a win-win. Plus, it builds links and authority.
Once you’ve done that, you’re all finished.
The most important thing is to choose a few methods of promoting your content and send it till the cows come home.
For me, I love guest posting and cold email outreach. I love connecting with people and genuinely trying to help out where possible, so those two methods are a match-made-in-heaven for me.
Google will take a bit of time for your content to rank, but if you’ve done the steps listed in this post, you’ll be ranking on Google in time.
Wrapping Things Up About Creating Rank-Worthy Content
The process I’ve shared with you is the exact same process I’ve used to build websites from 0 to 1,000 daily visitors in one year.
It’s the exact same process I used to build a YouTube Channel with over 3 million views, 25,000 subscribers, and 33 years of total watch time on my videos.
The most important things to remember are as follows:
- Pick the content your market loves (that’s validated through market research)
- Create the best piece of content on the internet on that topic (that puts your head-and-shoulders above your competitors), and
- Promote that content as if your business life depends on it.
If you do this consistently, you’ll achieve business growth like you can’t even imagine.
